| This thesis is an investigation of how newspapers differ in reporting food-related risk information to the public. From June 1 to November 30, 2001, 427 news articles and 164 opinion pieces in four daily newspapers (two business-oriented, one popular, and one tabloid) were analyzed for prominence, tone, and content. Striking differences across newspapers were found for the topic of biotechnology, one of eight categories of interest. One national, business-oriented newspaper provided longer, more positive, staff-written news articles (n = 20) and more space on the opinion pages for proponents of biotechnology than any other paper. In contrast, the tabloid published one news article and no opinion pieces on biotechnology. These different reporting styles suggest that the media's influence on readers' risk perceptions associated with this technology will vary across population subgroups. Future research can begin to link reporting style to its influence on the public's attitude towards this technology. |
